The present invention relates to a ticket taking system.
A person wishing to attend a public event, or one attended by a plurality of people, purchases a ticket prior to the event. The ticket usually consists of paper, pasteboard or paper type material, or the like. The ticket is classified in accordance with the number and/or date of the event, price and the exact seat in the public place such as, for example, the stadium arena, theatre, auditorium, or the like, to which the ticket entitles the ticket holder to enter. The ticket holder enters the stadium, arena, theatre, auditorium, or the like, by moving through a standard turnstile. An attendant, tending the turnstile, takes the ticket, verifies the identification of the event on the face of the ticket, tears the ticket in half, and returns the half of the ticket which indicates the exact location of the seat represented by the ticket, to the patron or ticket holder. The attendant retains the other half of the ticket, which identifies the event and the date, and deposits it in a container such as a basket, bin, box, or the like. The patron then passes through the turnstile and the mechanical counter of the turnstile increases its count by one.
The ticket taking system of the invention provides rapid, verified and unsupervised entry to public events held in stadiums, arenas, theatres, auditoriums, exhibition halls, race tracks, and the like, and provides entry to all types of mass transportation, as well, without the use of coins, tokens, and without the need for attendants. The ticket holder is required to retain a check for determining the exact seat location. The check also functions as a rain check in the event that the event is cancelled, due to rain, or the like. The check provides a receipt for the patron, and, in the case of a racing event, functioning as a wagering receipt. The ticket taking system of the invention provides such a check for a person having a properly designated ticket. Furthermore, the ticket taking system of the invention provides a rapid and accurate inventory of monetary receipts and people admitted to the event, due to the retention of part of each accepted ticket. Any suitable counting and sensing system may be utilized to provide an updated account of monetary receipts and people admitted to the event.
The principal object of the invention is to provide a ticket taking system which functions fully automatically to accept properly encoded tickets for an event attended by a plurality of people and to reject improperly encoded tickets for such event in a fully automated manner.
An object of the invention is to provide a ticket taking system which completely replaces human ticket takers and overseers and requires only a single overseer or attendant.
Another object of the invention is to provide a ticket taking system of simple structure, which is inexpensive in manufacture, and functions efficiently, effectively and reliably to accept properly coded tickets for an event attended by a plurality of people and to admit the holders of such tickets, and to reject improperly coded tickets to such event and to prevent the entry of the holders of such tickets.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a ticket taking system which is adjustable to determine the proper encoding of an acceptable ticket, accepts such properly encoded tickets and admits their holders, rejects improperly encoded tickets and refuses entry to their holders, and which may thus be varied in code designation for each event and for different dates, thereby preventing a single ticket from being utilized for more than the event for which it was issued.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a ticket taking system which functions efficiently, effectively and reliably to admit holders of properly coded tickets and bar entry to holders of improperly coded tickets, which in barring entry to a holder of an improperly coded ticket indicates that the ticket holder should consult with an attendant, and which in passing the holder of a properly coded ticket indicates that such holder should enter.
Another object of the invention is to provide a ticket taking system which provides a ticket holder admitted to an event with part of the ticket used to gain admittance, which part functions to provide information for locating the seat represented by the ticket, functions as a rain check in the event of cancellation of the event, and functions as a receipt for the amount paid for the ticket, and also retains another part of the ticket as part of an inventory of monetary receipts and the number of patrons admitted to the event.